Posted on 04/03/2014 5:42:29 AM PDT by Ivan Mazepa
Russia's Vladimir Putin has committed a grave strategic blunder by tearing up the international rule book without a green light from China. Any hope of recruiting Beijing as an ally to blunt Western sanctions looks doomed, and with it the Kremlin's chances of a painless victory, or any worthwhile victory at all.
Mr Putin was careful to thank China's Politburo for its alleged support in his victory speech on Crimea. Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has been claiming with his usual elasticity that “Russia and China have coinciding views on the situation in Ukraine.”
This is of course a desperate lie. China did not stand behind Russia in the UN Security Council vote on Crimea, as it had over Syria. It pointedly abstained. Its foreign ministry stated that “China always sticks to the principle of non-interference in any country’s internal affairs and respects the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine.” ... The reality is that China is breaking Russia's control over the gas basins of Central Asia systematically and ruthlessly. Turkmenistan's gas used to flow North, hostage to prices set by Gazprom. It now flows East. President Xi went in person last September to open the new 1,800 km pipeline to China from the Galkynysh field, the world's second largest with 26 trillion cubic meters.
It will ultimately supply 65 BCM, equal to half Gazprom's exports to Europe. Much the same is going on in Kazakhstan, where Chinese companies have taken over much of the energy industry. The politics are poignantly exposed in Wikileaks cables from Central Asia. A British diplomat is cited in a 2010 dispatch describing the "Chinese commercial colonization" of the region, saying Russia was "painfully" watching its energy domination in Central Asia slip away.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Chinese and German delegations left the room after Ukrainian when Russian delegate spoke at WTO convention - clear sign of solidarity with Ukraine. Russia gets increasingly isolated and paranoid, borderline schizophrenic.
If China were to actually support serious sanctions against Russia ( and they won’t), Putin merely has to utter “Tibet”.
China is pragmatic first and foremost. They don’t want to be cornered and ostracized like Russia. They will wait for opportune moment for their territorial moves, which is not now.
What sanctions? The visa bans on fewer than 20 Russians? Oh, how crippling! China’s abstention was tacit approval. And yes, they do want to seize the Senkaku islands.
Putin’ approval is heading for 80% at home, while Zero’s plummets and Euro-leaders like Hollande and Cameron have ratings in the toilet.
Hard to believe the FP nerds trying to spin this as a win for the Kerry department of blunders.
They (China) want their property back, and they are getting it back by ethnic resettlement across the Amur and the frontier regions, much as Mexico is retaking California and Texas by the Reconquista of migration.
There’s no hole so deep for our geopolitical enemies that President Neville Obama can’t reach them with a rope.
Vlad does not have a navy. I think Vlad might have 1 aircraft carrier and it is in the Atlantic.
According to wiki, the russian pacific fleet consists of 1 cruiser, 5 destroyers, 3 ballistic missle subs (presumably aimed at the usa), and 5 other submarines.
The only serious naval power in the world is the USA.
The headline might be suggesting a US-China alliance, but really, it’s a three way tug of war, with each party pursuing its own interests.
Exactly. The Chicoms are big boys now and they will play their own game. They will use this to squeeze something out of Vlad. He’ll be a much craftier negotiator than 0bama and his monky-boy John F’in Kerry.
Spot-on.
Besides the fact that US foreign policy should be (covertly) pitting China & Russia against each other, not driving them together.
This piece is just liberal blather supporting defective foreign policy.
China is the long term peril. Putin will face more and more domestic resistance. He is playing his last cards. I dont think he can afford the mobilization to take back the baltic states and ukraine. the army is poorly equipped, demoralized and consists of 1 year recruits. Special operators were used because that is all he has for a small time operation. Limited forces. Already he is expressing concern over nato “training” deployment. Of course obumbler is a joke, but putin is not stupid and i think he stops with what he has.... his navy base.
“This piece is just liberal blather supporting defective foreign policy.”
I agree. putin does not look “desperate” like obama claims
Oh, you cheated! It was such a great game of ‘lets pretend’.
I agree.
China has five times, America’s population.
Last year China exported to America, 440 billion dollars worth of goods and stuff.
During the same period, America exported just 122 billion back to China.
That is an inbalance just last year, of over 300 billion dollars.
Just with China. In just one year. That has been growing consistently, for the last 20 years.
Wake up people. China is making far too much stuff. America needs to bring back American manufacturing.
Now.
China did not stand behind Russia in the UN Security Council vote on Crimea, as it had over Syria. It pointedly abstained. Its foreign ministry stated that “China always sticks to the principle of non-interference in any country’s internal affairs and respects the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine.” ... The reality is that China is breaking Russia's control over the gas basins of Central Asia systematically and ruthlessly. Turkmenistan's gas used to flow North, hostage to prices set by Gazprom. It now flows East. President Xi went in person last September to open the new 1,800 km pipeline to China from the Galkynysh field, the world's second largest with 26 trillion cubic meters. It will ultimately supply 65 BCM, equal to half Gazprom's exports to Europe. Much the same is going on in Kazakhstan, where Chinese companies have taken over much of the energy industry.
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